An Intimate Encounter
by EmilyA198527
Summary: Taking on a job as a waitress, as well as an apartment above the very same place she would be working at, Chloe Derricks wasn't expecting much to happen when she arrived at her boss's restaurant in the small town of Lavender Hills on Halloween night. However...Nothing is never as it seems on Halloween Night
1. Chapter 1

Note: This is a fanfiction that is based off of a story that I have wrote as part of the first of the Lavender Hills novels. Just look for it under my author name, Janessa Anderson. I changed the name of the male lead character to go with the storyline. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners, or The Undertaker.

Chapter One

Leaving the tall buildings and busy streets of Atlanta behind her, Chloe drove full force down a road that was heading south of the very place that she had called home for such a long time behind the wheel of her small, black pick-up truck. Her soft hands kept a light yet firm grip on the leather cover concealing the outer edges of the steering wheel as she guided it down the interstate street she was on in the direction of her new home: Lavender Hills, Georgia.

All of her life, Chloe had spent it in the city limits of Atlanta, hardly leaving the area unless it was with her parents when she was little or going to visit family members in neighboring towns. She never lived on a farm, went to a rodeo, or even worked in a garden. The only existence that she knew of was the one that she had back in Atlanta where she was spending her days in an office building, working as the executive assistant to a nightmare of boss that seemed to be the devil itself reincarnated in the body of a middle aged woman who just happened to be a devout and strict protestant Christian.

When she wasn't working in a building at all hours to meet deadlines for projects that either fell through not far into them or dealing with rude perverted men that either worked beside her or happened to be colleagues of her boss, she spent her nights tucked away in her penthouse apartment with a good book in her hand or watching a decent movie that she happened to come across by chance either on the television set or by looking on Netflix or Hulu.

Her life had pretty much become so boring to her that it had become routine and she started to be used to dealing with the same shit every day and it never changing. Chloe didn't think there was a chance for her to break out of the rut that she had found herself in, and start all over again.

However, as most chances, opportunity decided to rear its head out of nowhere.

On a trip to the nearby town of Lavender Hills, Georgia, a good two hour drive from Atlanta, she was presented with the offer of taking up residence at an apartment that was above the popular eating establishment in the town known simply as 'Jim's Place', and working there as a waitress by the owner when she had went to pay for the food and drinks that her friends and herself had enjoyed at their own booth in the place. Chloe thought it was too good to be true, but she soon started to like the idea more and more, and decided to really think about it.

A few days of thinking and planning later, she was driving down the long stretch of road from Atlanta, Georgia in the direction of where she would be starting from scratch and living in a much smaller and, hopefully, quieter town.

_I am so looking forward in getting myself settled into my place in Lavender Hills. Being able to get away from all the crime…the heavy traffic jams…the loud and annoying noise-_

A soft sigh of frustration left her mouth from the sound of her cellphone ringing loud and proud from the cup holder she had placed it in. With no one in front of her, Chloe darted her eyes in the direction of where she had left it to keep it from falling all over, and glanced in the direction of the screen.

The name and number of the very restaurant where she was to start working at was blinking on the caller ID on the face of the phone.

_Oh boy…This can't be good._

She reached down, and picked it up out of the cup holder. Her attention drifted back to the road in front of her, making sure that there was no one darting in front of her or any vehicles near her that were going too slow for her that she would end up hitting them in the rear. With the phone in the palm of her right hand, Chloe managed to accept the call before bringing it up to a side of her head to where she would be able to speak into it, as well as listen to who it was.

"Hello," she said, "this is Chloe Derricks. How can I help you?"

"Hi Chloe. This is Jim Perkins from the restaurant."

The sound of the friendly tone coming from her soon-to-be new boss's voice eased some of the frustration away from her body, and brought a smile to her face shortly before she responded back to him over the phone in a similar tone.

"Hi Jim. How are things going for you today?"

"Things are going all right here at the restaurant. Just getting some things set up later on tonight at the place."

"What is going on there later tonight?"

"I am going to be holding a big Halloween party that I hold every year. The whole town comes out here and partakes in it. It is something special."

_Wait a minute here…I am going to be getting there today…Am I going to have to work at his party my first night there?_

Her curiosity peaked in her when she caught wind of what he said over the phone and the prospect of having to work that night when she got to Lavender Hills. It was still another good hour before she arrived there, and she knew she would be really exhausted and not in the kind of shape she needed to be in order to serve drinks and food to people that would be there that night.

"Jim, am I going to be starting work there tonight at the party you are throwing?" She asked, secretly hoping that she was wrong on her assumption. "I am still an hour away from the restaurant, and I have all of my things in the back of my truck to take upstairs to the apartment you said that I could move into it…Not saying that I don't want to work tonight…It is just-"

"Don't worry about working tonight, Chloe." A soft chuckle escaped into Jim's voice the moment he caught her to be panicking a bit about the idea of working when she arrived there. "Tonight, I want you to have a good time at the party and mingle with some of the people that are regulars here at the restaurant. Tomorrow is your first night of working at the restaurant."

_Thank god for that!_

She was relieved to hear that she wasn't going to have to work on her first day in the small town, and that she had a whole day and night to rest up and enjoy herself somewhat before she had to begin working as Jim's waitress at his restaurant.

"That sounds really good to me at the moment, Jim."

"Who knows…You might find yourself a great guy tonight. Lavender Hills does have several good men among our bad apples."

"Thanks, Jim…Well, I better get off here before a cop catches me on my phone. I should be there in the next forty-five minutes to an hour."

"I will be here working than. See you soon."

On that note, Chloe hung her phone up and moved her attention back onto the road in front of her shortly after placing the phone in the cup holder once more. A soft sigh of relief mixing with annoyance slipped out of her mouth.

Men…They were exactly what she didn't have the best of luck with. All of the ones she had gone out with Atlanta were few and pointless. She had only been out with three men, but they were all bad apples and did the same thing to cause the relationship to end: cheated on her with another woman who didn't mind doing the perverted things in bed that they wanted to do.

_I don't want to think about dating anyone at the moment. Every time I do wonder about dating someone, they end up already involved with someone else, are out of my league, or are the type that tries to force me to do what they want and disregard what I want to do._

Putting the idea in her head that she needed to focus on something else other than her personal life and men, Chloe put her attention back into her driving, and continued to roll down the hallway behind the wheel of her black pick-up truck towards her destination: Lavender Hills, Georgia.

Moving down a set of spiral stairs at his lavish and well-built estate, Mark Callaway, the owner and master of Raven Fell, secured the sash of his black silk robe around in front of him in order to keep the fabric from opening open, and revealing his complete nude frame. He slipped one of his hands up, and brushed several loose strands of his midnight black hair out of the way of his eyes line of sight, letting the sunlight that was streaming in through the glass windows to cause his piercing stare to glisten in its rays. The moment he had done the gesture caused him to tighten his gaze out of annoyance at the bright light hitting his sleepy gaze.

_Good god…Why does the sun have to be so bright like it is? _

The intensity of the sun had him to move around a corner, and keep to the shadows. Mark pressed his face against the cold, hard surface of the black and stone gray walls that ran all throughout his large home. Soft groans of discomfort slipped out of the opening of his mouth while he gripped a bit at the wall, digging some fingernails into it. He had to keep himself calm and relaxed if he didn't have a relapse so early in the day, and give into the side of him that he didn't favor much at all.

Although Mark had the look of an average male in his early thirties, there was a deep, dark secret to him that only one other person knew about: He was a shifter, a being that possesses the ability to transform into the animal or creature that assigns itself to upon their birth and stays with them until the end of their life. It was also due to this ailment that his life had gone on far longer than it should have been. He was born on October 31st, 1814, making him two hundred years old come Halloween night this coming weekend.

_I have to remain calm…I need to keep the raven from coming out again like last time…Once it is out…I can't get it to go back so easily for me to retain control of myself._

He had a very good reason to be concerned about his welfare with the raven part of his soul wanting to take over his body once more. The last time that the raven took hold of him, Mark wasn't able to take his human form for several hours, and couldn't help people who were in need due to the bird in him having him to fly and follow its own call. Whenever it took control, he couldn't seem to find the one part in his body that would truly have it leave him.

_Why do you wish to keep on fighting against something that you know very well that you cannot ignore fully and completely? _

The teasing, coy tone of the raven whispered at him from the deep recesses of his mind, making it very hard to ignore its tone growing louder and louder from deep within him.

_You have not been able to find anything to keep you from caving in to me so easily, and you will never be able to find the source to drive me from you so you can live a more 'normal' existence._

Mark softly growled at the voice in his mind that wouldn't leave him alone and give him any kind of peace, especially in the morning when he has just woken up. It wanted to be in control all the time and not give him a moment to himself no matter how much he fought it back away from the surface time and time ago.

_You listen and you listen well, you bastard! I will find that one piece I need in order to keep the urge from transforming into a fucking raven where it needs to be: Far, far from sight!_

_Big words from someone that has failed to realize that you cannot chase me away, and that you will never be able to live an ordinary life regardless of all of the attempts you have made at regaining your mortality._

Mortality…The one thing in the whole two hundred years of his life that had eluded him since the day he was brought into his world. He had longed to see and experience what so many other men and women go through. Everything from going to a doctor for a check up to growing old appealed to him and made him yearn to go through all the normal, mundane things that have been out of his reach.

_Why don't you just give up on this foolish notion of trying to achieve a mortal existence when you cannot even stop yourself from changing into the form that you were blessed with having attached to your soul?_

The teasing tone of the creature's voice echoed all throughout his head, and reminded him of the fact that he had not been able to stop its pursuit in controlling him in the past. No matter how hard he had tried to fight against it, Mark had just not been strong enough to keep it away long enough.

_I…will not give up on my dream, and cave into your wishes, you fowl beast. _

Mark fought back against the bird clawing at his insides in a way to try and work its magic on him in order to get him to change into the very form that he despised with all of his heart and soul. Taking a step back from the wall he had pressed his body against and used his hands to grab onto it with every bit of strength in his body, he let a heated sigh out of his mouth shortly before he sent out his command to the raven deep inside of him, informing it of what his intentions were at that very moment.

_No matter how many times you try to break me down and regardless of the times when I will give in to your wish to take control of my body…I will find a way to beat you, and achieve my ultimate dream of living a normal existence from here on out._

Before the fowl that dwelled within him had a chance to really retort back, the noise of his nearby black, cordless phone ringing caught his attention and managed to send the bird back to the recesses of his mind where it belonged in his opinion.

Mark moved away from the wall in front of him, and over to where he had the phone resting securely on the hook. He took a moment to calm himself down before picking up the phone, and speaking into the mouthpiece with his deep voice pouring out of his strong mouth.

"Good morning," he said, "you have reached Mark Callaway. How may I be of assistance to you today?"

"Morning, Mr. Callaway. This is Jim from the restaurant in town. How are you doing today?"

Jim…Thank god it was him calling. The one person in the whole town of Lavender Hills who knew about his secret and the only individual that didn't make him feel like a celebrity due to his wealth he had acquired of the years made him feel normal and just like everyone else.

Smiling, Mark moved to lean against one of the stone walls near the charging station for the phone as a soft chuckle slipped out into his voice in the process of responding back to him.

"Hello, Jim. How are you doing today?"

"I am doing just fine, Mr. Callaway. The reason why I am calling you today is I wanted to know if you wanted to come on in, and look over the decorations that you chose to go with for the Halloween party this year to see if they are want you want."

"I don't really see why you need my opinion on the matter, Jim."

"Just humor an old man, Mark, and come see what it looks like before the party tonight. I would really like your info."

A smile crept across his face at the notion of Jim being old. He had one-hundred-and-sixty years on the owner of the restaurant. So, if any one of them happened to be the old man, it was more than likely him.

"Very well, Jim. Give me a few minutes to get dressed, and I will make my way to town to check the decorations for you. I would hate for you to go into tonight thinking they were not the right ones to have went with."

"Very good, Mr. Callaway. I will expect to see you in a little while then."

"Goodbye for now, Jim."

Mark eased the phone back on its hook before he turned around, and went in the direction of where a black spiral staircase stood nearby. His hands slipped down to where his sash was knotted in front of him, and slipped it free from its confines, letting the fabric of the robe slip back and slowly start to expose his nude, muscular physique.

_Even though I wasn't going to head into town today until later on this evening to attend the Halloween Party, it seems that things have changed. Oh well…Life is never boring. Things are always changing no matter what we say or do about it._

Removing the robe from his body, Mark draped it over one of his strong arms as he moved up the spiral staircase in the direction of his master bedroom to prepare for the trip into town.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: This is a fanfiction based off of a book that I have wrote for my Lavender Hills series of novels. The name of the male lead character has been changed to follow the storyline. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners, or The Undertaker

Chapter Two

Pulling up outside of Jim's restaurant and dance hall, Chloe parked her pick-up truck at one end of the row of the front parking spaces. She eased her driver side door open up, and removed herself from the vehicle that she had been sitting inside of and moving down the highway from Atlanta to Lavender Hills for almost an hour and a half. A soft sigh of relief escaped from her mouth the moment her feet hit the floor and she stretched her arms up over her head, reaching towards the heavens.

_Oh my…goodness! It feels so good to be out of that truck of mine and reaching my destination that I have had to fight nasty traffic in order to get here._

Her arms fell down to her sides once she had stretched them out to a point where the muscles in them were worked out enough to not feel close to the point of falling asleep on her. Chloe turned her attention towards her legs, and took the time to prop one of her feet up on one of her tires before stretching her leg out, waking up the muscles in it. Once she had let it last a few lingering seconds, she moved that leg down and placed the other one up on the wheel, repeating the same action.

_I was beginning to think that I was never going to make it here to Jim's Place for me to finally get settled in. _

Bringing her body to be standing up right once more, her attention drifted to the sky, and found the sun to be high still amongst the patchy clouds that were in the area with it, giving her the sign that it had to be about noon or maybe around one in the afternoon.

The news gave her an added sense of relief. She would have plenty of time to get herself ready for the party that Jim, her new boss, would be throwing that night for the people of Lavender Hills to attend at the restaurant, but there was something else to consider now that she had made it there and would have a lot of time to get ready for the party.

Her outfit for the party. No doubt that the others that would be coming with their spouses, children, and significant others would be dressed in costumes to celebrate Halloween there. If she didn't have something to wear for the event, she would stick out like a sore thumb and look like someone who didn't like the holiday at all.

That was far from the truth for her when it came to Halloween. Chloe loved Halloween with all of her heart and soul. She found it to be the one time of the year when she could truly let loose and let the magic and mystery of the day and night. There was something about this one holiday out of all the others that really appealed to her and brought her soul to life.

"Glad to see that you finally made it here, Chloe."

The sound of Jim's voice speaking her name snapped her out of her train of thought and brought her back to reality. Chloe let her eyes flutter for a bit before focusing them in the direction of where a middle aged man with thin brown hair on top of his head was moving towards her with a friendly gaze pouring out of his dark blue eyes. The sight of him brought a friendly smile to her face as she looked upon him.

"Good afternoon, Jim." Chloe said, calmly. She reached out with her arms as he walked to her, and accepted the hug that he wanted to give to her by giving a polite one back to him. "It is so good to finally get here from Atlanta."

"I bet so." Jim replied. He stepped back after just a few seconds of giving her a brief welcoming hug before he continued to speak to her. "How was the traffic on the way down here from the city?"

"It was horrible."

She moved to the rear of the truck, and propped one of her feet on the chrome bumper of it. Her mouth drew in a breath before she used the strength in her hands to pull herself up to stand up on it with the other feet as well.

"If it wasn't traffic jams brought on by some stupid person using their cellphone when they were not supposed to be using them, it would be some slow ass in front of me not realizing they were going twenty miles under the god damn speed limit."

"Sounds like you had an interesting trip then from the city to my little slice of heaven then."

The sound of a hearty chuckle slipping into Jim's voice caused her to smile a little wider and let out her own laughter for a short moment in her speech as she swung one leg over the tail gate of the truck.

"Oh yes…_loads _of fun."

Moving her other leg over the gate of the vehicle, she made her way over to where she had several large bags waiting for her to get a hold of and hoist them all the way up the stairs to the apartment she would be calling home for however long she decided to stay there in the town of Lavender Hills.

_And this is going to be oodles of fun as well._

Chloe knew going into this that there would be some form of struggle on her part at lifting the bags up, and removing them from the back of the truck. However…She completely forgot about the weight of each one on the way there.

Her right hand grabbed a hold onto one of the straps on the bag before her, and proceeded to lift it up without really preparing herself for the sheer weight of it. The heavy weight of it nearly sent her falling down on her ass with the only cushioning having caught her would have been the metal that the bed of the truck was made out of. At the last second, Chloe managed to grab onto a side of the truck bed's rim to keep her from falling.

"Chloe, are you all right?"

Jim's concerned tone of voice towards her alerted her, informing her that he was worried about her almost hitting the metal floor of the truck with a large amount of force that could potentially hurt her.

She took a moment to get a good firm grip on the handle once more before her attention drifted over to where he was standing. Chloe managed to flash him a reassuring expression moments before her slightly out of breath voice came out of her mouth.

"Yeah…I am fine, Jim."

She didn't want him to come rushing to her aid as if she was a damsel in distress. Chloe hated how some girls would be so welcomed to the idea of a man coming to her rescue. There was never one time when she was in a tight spot that she waited for a man to step in and help her out of a dangerous or sticky situation she got herself into. Chloe had always been proud of the fact that she had been brought up to be self-reliant and not to put her complete dependency on that of others around her.

A soft groan escaped from her mouth as she hoisted the bag off of the truck's bed, and carried it over to the very side of the vehicle that she had grabbed onto a few moments earlier. She brought the bag around from her hip and tossed it down to the floor. The sound of letting out a loud thud echoed out due to the amount of clothes she had tucked inside of it while she moved herself to sit on the rim of the truck's bed.

"I just forgot how heavy that bag is in particular."

She pushed off from the spot, and landed on the balls of her feet with ease. Once on the ground, Chloe grabbed onto the strap of the bag once more before she slipped it over on one of her shoulders. Her attention drifted back to him while a friendly smile danced across her face in his direction.

"I am going to start taking my things up to the apartment above your restaurant, and getting settled in before your party tonight."

"Okay, Chloe," Jim said, calmly, "just go up the spiral staircase by the bar and it will take you right up there to the loft. The key for the door is hanging on a nail outside of the apartment."

Nodding her head to him, she turned away from him, and headed towards the direction of the hardwood door of the restaurant with the heavy black duffle bag hanging on her right shoulder.

Mark drove his treasured black and crimson red Mustang down the curvy road leading up to his hilltop estate with ease and little difficulty. As his hands guided one of his beloved vehicles down the slope with finesse and grace, his body relaxed against the black and crimson leather seats he had custom made with a black silk shirt and a pair of black trousers keeping him comfortable on the trek down to the heart of Lavender Hills where Jim was waiting for him to show up at his restaurant and look over the decorations that he chose to go with for the Halloween party later that night.

_I really don't know why in the hell I am making this trip down to Jim's Place to only look over the choices he went with in order to make the restaurant look good for tonight's party…He always does great work with the place at time of year, and has never disappointed me before in the past._

On the way towards town, he started to ponder on the reason why he chose to go down to Lavender Hills and inspect the decorations that Jim had put up in his restaurant for the party there that night. Mark never once had a problem with the way that his old companion and trusted confidant chose to decorate the place up for Halloween. Everyone loved what Jim would go with, including himself.

Why on earth would he choose to doubt his friend's choices in decorating his restaurant up now when he had plenty of time to do that with all the other times he had went with a different theme for the event?

Reaching the end of the road that led up to his hilltop estate, he pulled out onto one of the main roads in the small town of Lavender Hills, and headed down it in the direction of where Jim's restaurant was nestled. His piercing stare looked out the driver side, as well as the front, window at the surroundings buildings and home that were scattered about in the area he had called home for such a long time.

It seemed that this year everyone was getting into the spirit of Halloween. From the smallest of houses to the largest of buildings, the town was decked out from head to toe with all kinds of decorations for the seasons that ranged from the sweet and comical to the dark and twisted sort.

_Ah…It brings a smile to my face to see everyone enjoying themselves this time of the year, and really letting loose with all of these decorations. Last year, there weren't nearly this many people putting effort into being festive for this one night out of the year._

A warm smile stretched across his face from finding everyone getting into the spirit of the day that had fell upon them, and also for the night that was still to come.

_So glad to see that people around here are opening up the idea of really putting hard work in making this one night something special and to remember._

Making a right hand turn at the center of downtown, Mark drove his expensive, luxury car in the direction of where Jim's Place was located. His eyes focused on the tall building that had all sorts of decorations for the holiday on the outside of it. He discovered an unfamiliar pick-up parked at one end of the front row of parking right outside the large porch that was nested on front of the restaurant.

_Hmm…I don't recognize that vehicle. For as long as I have been coming here to help him out and assist with the restaurant from time to time, I don't recall anyone from town driving a truck like that one before._

With his attention on the truck, Mark eased his car into a spot at the other end of the row of parking slots in front of the tall building. He shifted the car into park, and turned off the engine with the flick of his wrist on his right hand. His body reclined back in his seat, and focused primarily on the building, watching and waiting for the owner of the truck to come out.

His curiosity peaked at finding out that someone outside of Lavender Hills, Georgia had arrived to Jim's Place when no one normally besides himself is there with him before the evening hours that the restaurant runs at.

Mark noticed he didn't have to wait for a long time to find out whom in fact the owner of the truck belonged to. His gaze fell upon the sight of the most beautiful attractive woman that he had ever seen before in his entire life making her way to the tail of the vehicle, and hoisting herself onto the chrome bumper of it with little difficulty.

_Well…Well…Take a look at this little beauty, Mark. _

The sight of this curvaceous beauty climbing into the bed of the truck with such fluid movements caused the raven part of his soul to become excited and highly curious of whom this was.

_I have never seen any other woman in this small ass town that is as attractive as she is. She has all the right curves in the exact spots on her body where they need to be on a woman. Her body is not too thin and it is not too fat. She is just right._

_I believe you need to calm yourself down before you get too excited for your own good._

Mark silently cursed at the shifter part of his being getting highly aroused at this new face in town because it was making him experience the same kind of feelings and cause his member that was underneath the fabric of his trousers start to tighten up.

His plea for the other part of his soul to calm down fell on deaf ears for he only found it laughing back at him and speaking back to him in a highly coy tone.

_Oh really, Mark? You want me to keep my trap shut? _

_That is exactly what I am wanting you to do right now._

_You can't sit here and deny the fact that the little filly in the truck bed just a little bit away from you is the most attractive and alluring piece of ass that your eyes have looked upon in the last two hundred years._

He didn't want to admit it…but the bird was right. Jim's visitor was the sexiest one he had ever had the pleasure of looking upon. There were many women in the small town of Lavender Hills, but none of them measured up to the beauty that was moving towards the back of the truck bed to retrieve something but he didn't know what.

_Get your ass out of this car of yours…walk over to her…and get her talking to you so you can find out some information out about her. After all…you need to know something about Jim's guest from out of town if she is going to be staying around for a little while, even if it is just going to be for one night._

Once again, Mark had to agree with the part of him that spoke to not only him but his rational thinking. He needed to know about whom it was that Jim had at the restaurant from out of town. Even though they could be just a normal human traveler, a family friend or just an innocent passer-byer, there was a risk that this woman he was gazing at could possibly be another shifter and bring danger to the people of the town by her presence there.

Releasing a soft breath of air, he climbed out of his vehicle, and closed the door gently behind him. His hands rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to where they met his elbows as he approached the truck from side. Mark drew in a breath of air, and released it out with his deep voice.

"Good afternoon, miss," He asked, "do you need some help?" Mark chose to use a more friendly approach with the mystery lady, wanting to be seen in a more desirable way. "I just arrived here, and I noticed you climbing into the back of this truck."

His eyes watched as she turned around, and looked at him with those piercing eyes of hers. The kind that could pierce through the most cold and cruel heart, and bring it back to life at the same time. Her stare made it nearly impossible for him to look away from it. They seemed to draw him to her like a moth is drawn to a flame.

"I believe that I am all right with these last two bags, sir," she replied, friendly, "but I do appreciate the offer."

Mark struggled for a few more lingering moments to find his voice before it finally came out of his mouth.

"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new to Lavender Hills?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. I am moving into the loft above Jim's restaurant. He offered me the apartment and a job as one of his waitresses."

Jim…Mark knew that his companion had talked about hiring another waitress, but didn't know he was looking to hire someone out of town, let alone let them stay up in the very apartment where he used to stay at on a nightly basis from a night of being in his raven form.

Doing his best to not let on his own feelings of uncomfortableness, he extended one of his hands in her direction and spoke to her with the same lingering tone in his voice.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, miss. My name is Mark Callaway."


	3. Chapter 3

Note: This is a fanfiction based off of a story that I have wrote and published on Kindle under my author name, Janessa Anderson. The name of the leading male character has been changed to following the storyline. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners or The Undertaker

Chapter Three

_Oh my god…I have never seen a man as hot as him before in all of my life. _

Chloe couldn't take her eyes off of the man that was standing on the ground outside of the truck, looking up to her with a gaze that could pierce the very essence of her being and discover all of her secrets that she didn't want anyone to know or learn about.

He was everything that she didn't have the pleasure to experience back in Atlanta, Georgia. None of the men she had went out with on blind dates or met up at restaurants with friends were like this one. His body was tall and muscularly built while having nice clothes over it, something that the men back in the city seemed to have a hard time doing at the same time.

She had spent her entire life in the city, and grew up in several of different spots in it. However, there was no man that she could think of that matched the way Mr. Callaway looked at her at the moment. They were skinny, average or heavy set but they all did the same thing: dress in horrible, tacky clothes. There wasn't one that put any effort into looking nice for her at all.

Mr. Callaway seemed to be a special case.

Putting a smile on her face, Chloe reached out with one of her hands, and slipped it into his stretched out palm. She kept her eyes on his as she gave a shake of her hand at the same time she did a similar motion with her head while her voice came out of her mouth in the same friendly way she had chosen to use when she was talking to Jim previously.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Callaway. My name is Chloe Derricks."

Chloe found herself pleasantly surprised by him taking her hand, lifting it to his mouth, and pressing his lips against the soft, fair complexion of it. The instant that his mouth met the back of her hand, a warm sensation unlike anything she had experienced in her life to that point started to flood her body, overwhelming every pore of her body with its heat.

_What…What is going on? _

The feeling started to become a little unsettling for her. Chloe wasn't sure of what to think of the bizarre warmth that she was receiving from his mouth touching the back of her hand as gently as it was at the moment.

This was something she had never gone through before with any of the other men who had come into her life, and would kiss her cheek or even her lips. There was never one time where she would feel a heat that matched the level that he was giving to her with just a single kiss on the soft skin of her hand.

_What is…Is there something wrong with me? Why am I feeling a heat go through my entire body just by the touch of his strong lips against the back of my hand?_

In the back of her mind, Chloe caught the soft chuckling sound of the passionate part of her conscience kicking in and starting to give its own opinion about the mysterious sensations coursing through her veins.

_I don't believe that this is as big of a shock as you are making it out to be, Chloe. It is quite obvious to me as to what is going on right now with you._

_And just what is going on with me? Since you are such a genius on this type of thing, you tell me what is going on with me._

_Gladly…His kissing your hand is making you hot because you are aroused by him._

Chloe couldn't believe what her conscience was suggesting to her. There was no way on earth that she could possibly be aroused by Mr. Callaway just by him kissing her hand. She just met the man for god's sake! It wasn't possible for her to get turned on and attracted to a man like him within just a few moments of having spoken to him.

Yet…There was something about him that made her body tighten up with a need that she had never felt before. Perhaps it was in his presence…maybe it was in his speech…or perhaps it was the way he dressed…Chloe wasn't entire surely on it, but she knew there was something about him that drew her to him as if he was a magnet pulling her to him.

With her eyes upon him kissing her hand, she watched those piercing eyes of his look up at her while his mother hovered not even half an inch away from the soft skin of her hand. Just the way he looked at her with them made every muscle in her body tighten up, especially the ones in her inner thighs close to her vagina.

_Looks like I was right with that assumption after all._

She silently cursed at her conscience choosing to take this chance to get a shot in on her while she couldn't really react at the moment. Mr. Callaway's piercing stare and the heat coursing through her body at the moment from his kiss made it impossible for her to speak up right away either to him or to the part of her brain that was causing her a bit of grief.

Keeping her attention on him, Chloe's ears picked up on the sound of his deep voice slipping out of his mouth in a way that made her tighten up even more with an unspoken desire.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Derricks." Mark replied, easing himself to stand up straight, while a charismatic smile started to dance across his face. "But please…call me Mark."

That smile…Oh that smile! That look could melt the heart of the most iciest woman on the earth, and have her begging for more of his inner warmth that he could give to her. Mark didn't have to do much in order to drive herself mad with a need for him despite her wish to not admit that she was getting turned on at that moment by his presence.

Chloe did her best to keep her hidden emotions a secret from him by putting on a smile and giving another nod of her head in his direction shortly before her voice slipped out of her mouth once more.

"Very well, Mark, and you can call me Chloe."

She kept her eyes on his while her mind was tugging a bit on another issue: He wasn't letting go of one of her hands. The whole time they were looking at one another and telling the other one what name to refer them by, Mark had never let up on her hand that was within his grasp.

It was only a few moments into the short silence between the two of them that Chloe found him sliding his hand away, rubbing his palm against hers on its way from it. The feeling made her wish to feel his warm hand against hers once more, as well as in other places of her body.

Regardless of her own desires and lusts, she managed to get a hold on one of the bags she had went to ease down on the ground, and lifted it up by its strap.

"I was just getting the last of my belongings out of the truck."

"Let me help you with it."

"It is really not a big issue, Mark. I can take them on my own. You don't need to-"

It was in that moment when her eyes fell upon his once more that it seemed almost as if she had fallen under some kind of a trance. His eyes locked hers to his, giving her no choice but to look upon him from where she stood. As she did this, her heart started to race much more than it usually did on a normal basis. Chloe never took her gaze away from his even as she heard his enchanting voice speak to her in almost a commanding tone.

"Give the bag to me, Chloe."

His deep voice slipped out of his mouth in a way that he couldn't stop on its way exiting it. The tone of it had become fueled with his own growing need for this beautiful woman from out of town. He had tried to keep it hidden beneath the surface, but the shifter part of him wasn't giving him the satisfaction of peace from his unbridled emotions.

The realization of how he sounded to her at that moment came to him after catching sight of the look on her face in his direction. Seeing how Chloe gazed upon him alerted his senses as to what he had just done, and the kind of work that his raven soul was doing.

Alerted by what was being done at that moment deep inside of him, Mark did his best to hide the frustration on his face and let his true feelings be known to their fullest extent to the feather creature trying to work its way out of him and into the conversation with Jim's new employee.

_Now, that is enough of you, you cursed beast! This young lady has just arrived here to this town, and you are already trying to work your magic in order to get her attracted by my presence. _

His inner hearing caught the cackling of the raven's voice echoing throughout the entire span of his brain, touching every inch of it with its teasing voice.

_I have to do something or otherwise you are going to let this moment pass you by, and have this woman leave your life before you can even have a shot with her._

_Chloe doesn't need to be with someone like me who is not human like she is. She needs to be with a man that will live out a normal life with her, and pass away like normal mortal-_

_Did you consider that there might be something special about this one mortal woman that could break the infernal curse you have been trying to get out of since you have been blessed with me? Perhaps there is something to do with her arrival here that will lead to you achieving your wish: To be human again._

The very part of his being that he despised more than anything else on the planet did have a point. There was a chance that he could live a normal life still, and, perhaps, Chloe's arrival tied in with it. She was indeed a standout, and didn't appear anything like the other women in town did. Even though he couldn't see what it was at the moment, there was indeed something unique and special about this beautiful woman that no one else possessed.

Taking in a soft breath, Mark relaxed the features on his face, and flashed a warm yet apologetic smile in her direction as he spoke to her in a tone to match his expression with a faint chuckle slipping into it.

"I am sorry if I startled you with my request, Chloe." Mark said. "I only wish to help you with your belongings inside of Jim's restaurant here so that way it saves you at least a small amount of trouble."

He hoped, secretly, that she would accept his apology for coming off too strong with her, and that he still had a chance at getting close to her. Mark wanted…no, needed her approval for what he had done so he could help rectify what had happened, and make up for it.

Remaining where he stood, his eyes watched a warm smile dancing across her expression just mere moments before his ears picked up on the sound of her sweet, southern accent dripping from a tone that matched the way he had spoken to her just mere seconds earlier.

"It is okay, Mark." Chloe replied. "I only said what I said because I am used to doing things on my own."

"Never had a guy to help you out with something that needed to be done?"

"Nope…At least not in the way that I needed to be helped in."

"I take it that you had to deal with the normal jerks and assholes that come with the territory of living in the city, right?"

"Let's not forget about the douche bags, Mark. They are big in numbers back in Atlanta."

Her response brought a wicked grin across his face and caused a soft chuckle to slip out of his mouth. Chloe's sense of humor made him start to come out of his shell a little more. Even though she didn't realize it, she was helping him in more ways than she could possibly imagine. Her presence was assisting and offering him the chance to feel like a normal mortal man, something that had been eluding him for the two hundred years of living life as a cursed shifter.

"Well…I think it is time that you see for yourself that I am nowhere near like those men from the city, and that I have something special to offer you."

Mark offered to take the bag away from Chloe once more with him coming off more friendly and warm rather than sensual and demanding like he had been when he asked for the bag. He wanted to win her trust, and keep her from turning away.

This seemed crazy to him. He had been with many women over the past two hundred years. Some even coming to seek him from seeing him, and pleading with him to take them to bed. None of the women he had been with in the past had measured up to his expectations, and always left when they grew tired of his ways or they found out what he truly was.

Yet…This one woman seemed to erase all of them from his mind, and place herself at the very top of them. She had won him over with her smile, the way she carried herself, and the gorgeous body that she had. There wasn't anything about her that made him want to discard her and walk away. Leaving at this point was not an option.

Standing his ground, he watched with a kind look in his eyes as she extended the strap of the bag she had in her hand towards him, silently giving him the permission to take it from her. The smile seemed to widen a little more on his face from her gesture. Mark accepted the strap from her, and brought the back down to hang at his side once the long strap was over one of his shoulders. His eyes drifted back in her direction, and found her to be retrieving one that was much smaller, and heading back to where he was.

"I can get this bag, Mark," Chloe said, calmly, "and then we can head on inside."

Mark kept his eyes on her curvaceous frame moving to sit down on the top of the rim of the truck bed's side with the smaller bag nestled at her side. He noticed how the extra weight could cause a problem for her and it might even make her fall down.

Concerned for her safety, he showed his hands to her with a calm expression on his face while a more cautious tone slipped in with his friendly one he had been using with her.

"Here…Let me help you down from up there, Chloe."

Mark watched as her face looked at him in surprise at the offer helping her down from the truck to the ground below. There was little doubt to say that she had many guys going out of their way and helping her out with everyday tasks. However, it did surprise him that any mortal, as well as shifter, males could walk away from her without even bothering to assist her in the slightest way.

Sensing the obvious confusion that was burning there, he managed to crack a small chuckle and have his smile to widen once more across his face from it almost disappearing from the brief change in his demeanor.

"If you don't mind humoring a man that wishes to make sure you don't get hurt, I would like it if you would let me help you down from the truck to keep you from falling down and getting yourself hurt before Jim's party tonight…I would hate for you to injury yourself, and not be able to get to see you interacting with all of the people of Lavender Hills that are going to be here tonight."

Mark found that he didn't have to wait too long for Chloe's response from her leaning slightly forward with her hands reaching out to him. Instead of just getting her hands so she could jump down, he moved himself up to where he was between her hanging legs, slid his strong hands on her hips, and lifted her up in the air above his head, displaying complete ease and control with her body.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: This is a fanfiction based on a story that I have wrote and published on Kindle that is the first in a series of books. I changed the name of the male lead character to follow the storyline along. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners or The Undertaker

Chapter Four

A soft gasp of shock left the confines of her mouth the very moment she felt Mark moving him to be between her legs prior to using his hands to hoist her up in the air after sliding his hands onto her hips, and gripping onto them, firmly, exposing the amount of strength he possessed inside of his body.

_Oh my word…_

Witnessing how strong Mr. Callaway truly was a complete shock to her. She had not bothered to think that he would actually go so far to help her down by coming right up between where her legs had been handing, placed the palms of his hands against her sides, and lifted her up above his head. However, there was something else she didn't count on upon him easing her down from where she had been perched on the truck's bed.

When Mark had placed himself between her legs like he had done, it caused her hormones to go completely berserk inside of herself, and the muscles in her vagina tighten on the spot with unbridled lust for his frame. The sensation of his hard upper body lightly rubbing against her jeans prior to removing her from the top of the truck bed started a liquid fire running through every fiber of her being, making it impossible to ignore what he had done to her in just a matter of seconds.

_Calm down, Chloe…You need to calm yourself down right now before things get out of hand with your emotions._

She attempted to silently ease the amount of sexual tension from her body by speaking to her conscience, as well as to her own frame, in a way to where it would relax itself from the fire that was burning inside, and, hopefully, be able to diminish the intensity of the flame that was burning inside of her body.

Right now was not the best time to be caving into her more primal desires. There was no way of getting around the fact that she was highly turned on by what had just happened. Even though it was an innocent brushing of their bodies, it couldn't stop the intense amount of arousal that was wreaking havoc and leaving her with no peace and quiet.

Her wish to stop thinking about what he was doing to her at the moment fell on deaf ears since she was greeted by the sound of the part of her conscience that governed over her more passionate and intimate thoughts giggling for a brief moment before teasing her with its voice.

_How can you possible want to stop the fire that is burning deep within you when you know very well that you like what he is doing to you?_

This was not what she wanted to hear at the moment. She wanted to hear something from her conscience that would help the fire become more contained to the point where it would be put out before it could do some real damage on her system, not something that would make her be more on edge than she already was.

_You can't deny what he is making you feel at the moment, Chloe. Mark turns you on in ways that no other man from Atlanta, Georgia has ever been able to achieve in doing so. Why try to fight something that you cannot control no matter how hard you try?_

_Because right now is not the best time for me to start lusting after someone._

Chloe responded quickly and without hesitation to her conscience that was not giving her a moment for herself, or even trying to help quell her raging hormones.

_I just met the man for god's sake! If I do the things that you are wanting me to do at the moment with him…He will more than likely-_

_Ask you to come back with him to his place?_

_More like run away and tell all of his friends in this small ass town about how easy I am with a man that is nice to me. The last thing I need is to get some reputation of a whore or a slut in a place that I just arrived to._

_Whoever said that you were going to come off looking like that, Chloe? I will tell you who…NO ONE! You need to lighten the fuck up and stop worrying so much about what other think about you, and just give in to the desires and lusts that burn deep within-_

Her conscience's sentence was abruptly cut off from the sensation of her feet making contact with the blacktopped paved parking lot of Jim's restaurant, alerting her that she was no longer in the air with her looking down at Mark's gorgeous face. While she gazed into his piercing stare looking back down at her, Chloe did recognize something else going on without her looking.

Mark's hands were still fixated on her hips, and were not letting up for a single moment. His strong grip on her curvaceous body remained firm and possessive, showing no sign of just letting her go so easily. Even through the clothes she had on for the trip there, his palms were sending an intense amount of warmth unlike anything else in the entire world.

How was this possible? How could a man be able to send a seeming unnatural amount of warmth through her clothes and into the skin of her body without any having to really try too hard in the task of doing it?

This made her highly confused and unable to really come up with the right answer that she needed in order for the problem to have a solution. Chloe had never been in a situation like this one before in her whole life, and it completely confused her to the very core of her being.

While her body was nestled underneath his grasp, she discovered how her eyes seemed to be locked in a trance similar to the one that she had earlier with him that kept her from looking away from him. Chloe managed to catch sight of his face inching a bit towards hers while his strong lips were moving in the direction of her soft ones.

Unable to keep himself from the temptation of kissing her soft, pink lips for a second longer, Mark's strong mouth came crashing down against hers in the most tender and passionate of kisses. Once the moment that the distance between the two of them erased with one another and the skin of their lips touched each other, his body started to shiver with both delight in being able to release the tension that had grown quickly…and with that of an unbridled, unadulterated desire that made the heat within the kiss to rise even further to the surface.

_Oh my god…I have never experienced a kiss as wonderful and enchanting as the one I am having right now with Chloe._

In the last two hundred years, there had been quite a few women who had managed to make their way into his bed, and share his most intimate of company. Among those few, Mark had given them kisses and received them from them.

However, none of those women had a kiss that tasted as amazing and addictive as the one that Jim's new employee was engaged in with him. It seemed like a perfect drug to him. He couldn't get enough of the sweet and honey-like taste that lingered deep within the confines of her soft pink mouth.

Mark let the kiss last a few more moments on his part before he stopped to see if Chloe would return it back to him. His mouth hovered just a few inches away from hers while he looked upon her with his dark stare, waiting and watching for her reaction.

He got his answer from her very quickly in the response of her bringing her mouth in the rest of the way, and returning the very kiss that he had given to her a few moments prior.

_I am glad that you share my emotions, Chloe._

Discovering that she wanted to continue what he had started with her, Mark smiled, faintly, into the kiss with her, pleased with knowing that she was not only fine with what they were doing but that she wanted to show her own mutual attraction in the same way he had shown it to her.

He slipped his hands up from the sides of his body, and guided the palms of them onto her curvy hips to where his fingers could feel the shape of them and get a good, firm grip on them. Once he had achieved what he wanted to do, Mark pulled on her frame with enough force to ease their bodies together outside of the restaurant that his friend and confidant out of a need to feel her against him.

_This is such a nice sight to see with my own eyes, Mark._

The voice of the raven spirit deep within him cackled at him, slipping into his thoughts while he was lost in the moment with Jim's new employee and the newest resident to Lavender Hills, Georgia.

_You have never shown any woman this kind of treatment and attention before…It is nice to see that you are changing, and you are starting to give into the lusts that are burning inside of you._

It suddenly dawned on him. He was giving into the very feelings that the cursed part of his soul wanted him to be opened to. The raven had been trying so hard in the past two hundred years to get him to be open to the idea of letting go, and bringing a woman into his life.

However…Mark knew that any one woman that came into his life and stayed with him for long term risked not only her own happiness to be with a being that was cursed and over two centuries old, but that she would also be walking away from the normal, mortal society and entering a world of darkness, mystery, and, ultimately, danger.

Fearing for the young woman's happiness, Mark slowly eased out of the kiss with her, and took a few steps back with his head bowed down. He felt ashamed of allowing himself to do what he had just done, and that he didn't have the willpower to just say 'no' to her.

"I…I am sorry, Chloe." Mark whispered. "I…I didn't mean to do that."

His sharp hearing picked up on the sound of a disgusted gasp coming out of her mouth, letting him know that Chloe had become disgusted with him. Fearing upsetting her anymore, Mark lifted his head up, and casted his gaze in her direction. He found her to be shaking her head at him with a look of burning rage coming out of her eyes, matching the growing sound of hatred in her voice.

"Don't try to apologize, Mr. Callaway." Chloe replied. "I don't even want to hear your lie about being sorry for the kiss and that it was something you shouldn't have done or meant to do."

Mark's heart nearly stopped from seeing the vicious anger coming out of the sweet and beautiful young woman that stood before him outside of Jim's Place. He never assumed that one who looked like an angel from heaven could possess such rage towards him for just what he had said to her.

"I should have realized myself that you were only kissing me because it is your only way to win over me, and persuade me to join you in your bed."

"I…I never assumed to do anything of the sort at all."

Mark took offense to her assumption that he only kissed her because he wanted to have his way with her, and get inside of her panties. He was not the type of person to do such a devious act to an individual who had begun to wake up a part of his soul that had long been asleep.

"I would never do anything like you are suggesting."

"Sure, Mark…"

"I mean what I say!"

"I have heard it time and time again by men back in the city that I am from, Mark. The men there couldn't lie to me…and you sure as hell cannot."

That was it. He was not going to stand there with her, and have her talk down to him when he had not done a damn thing to deserve this type of treatment from her.

As she started to turn away, Mark reached out, and wrapped one of his arms around the upper part of one of her arms. He pulled her back in to him so his eyes could stare directly into hers. Gazing into her gaze with his piercing one, Mark spoke to her with a firm, commanding tone in his voice.

"Now you listen, Chloe, and you listen good. The thought of seducing you and treating you as a mere conquest has never crossed my mind for a single moment, and I will never look at you in that way. So, I suggest you change your way of thinking of men right now…because I am no ordinary man."


	5. Chapter 5

Note: This is a fanfiction based off of a story that I wrote and published on Kindle under the same title. The name of the male lead character has been changed to follow the storyline. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners or The Undertaker

Chapter Five

The way that Mark spoke to her made every muscle in her body not only tighten up on the spot, but also sent a liquid fire ripping throughout her entire body, engulfing every fiber of her being. All she found herself able to do was being able to gaze into those eyes of his.

Those eyes…His gaze was nothing like anything she had ever been given the pleasure to experience. They seemed to be filled to the brim with a dark, mysterious power that was all their own and were centuries old. Besides the supernatural feeling she got from them, Chloe couldn't deny an overwhelming amount of lust and desire pouring out of them and into her own, attempting to sway her own feelings over to that of his own.

_Snap yourself out of it, Chloe! This man just dismissed you shortly after ending a kiss with you! He is not worth your time or energy!  
><em>

Her conscience pleaded with her to turn her back on Mark, and to remove herself from his company due to having looked away from her and backed a few steps backwards after he had stopped their kiss.

Even though she knew that she needed to remove herself from him before the moment lingered on any more than it had already done, Chloe found herself unable to give in to the request that her conscience had made to her or even do something as little as breaking eye contact with him.

There was something about Mark that made the idea alone impossible. He possessed some unnoticeable trait that drew her to him like the light of flame draws a moth in. Even though it knows that the light might hurt it, the moth is unable to turn away from the allure of the flame. Much like the insect, Chloe knew that she could end up getting hurt being like she was with Mark but there was something about him that was pulling and attracting her to him even more.

It was only the sound of Jim's feet thudding against the porch outside the front of the restaurant's front door that made it possible for her to snap out of the trance she had fell under, and ease her body back a couple of steps from Mark. Chloe did her best to keep her composure as she hoisted one of the bags up to where the strap of it could rest on one of her shoulders, and looked in the direction of where the front door of the restaurant lied in time to see Jim walking out there with a big smile on his face.

"There you are, Chloe!" Jim exclaimed, happily. "I was wondering where you had went to."

"Sorry about disappearing like that, Jim." Chloe said. "I slipped out here to get the rest of my things so I wouldn't have to take any extra time with unpacking when I could spend that time getting ready for the party tonight."

She managed to speak in a friendly and calm tone to her new boss and landlord, masking the nervousness that was burning through her entire body due to the moment she was sharing with Mark.

"While I was getting my things, Mr. Callaway showed up, and we got to talking while he assisted me with getting the last of my bags out of the back of the truck here."

It was in that very second she could feel the atmosphere around the three of them change from being relaxed to being really tense. Chloe noticed how Jim was trying to hide the obvious sign of anxiousness from his expression even though it was noticeable in his eyes before she noticed a similar expression forming deep within the burning gaze that was pouring out of Mark's eyes.

_Chloe…I think perhaps you need to excuse yourself from these two men, and take your things on inside. _

Instead of screaming at her this time, her inner voice spoke to her in a calm and concerned tone, forgoing the anger and frustration it had with her only a few seconds earlier.

_There is something going on here underneath the surface. Jim has suddenly stopped behaving like he was, and Mark is on more edge now that your boss is out here with him and you. The smart thing to do right now is to pardon your presence, and slip back inside with your belongings._

She agreed with her conscience. There was something going on between Jim and Mark that was not being said out loud, and her presence there with the two men made it impossible for anything to really be out in the open.

Taking in a breath, Chloe got a hold of the heavier bag that was on the floor by one of her feet, and managed to lift it up enough to where it could rest on her other shoulder with only a little noise of discomfort and struggle slipping out of the confines of her soft lips. She found the sound breaking the current moment, and causing one of Mark's strong hands to reach out, and wrapping around the strap that was on her shoulder. Slowly, Chloe turned her head and focused her attention towards where he was standing in time to witness him sliding the strap of her bag over one of his shoulders and his luscious lips starting to move, allowing his deep and charming voice to come out of it soon afterwards.

"Let me get this for you, Chloe."

Despite having gotten into an argument with Jim's new employee, Mark was determined to make sure he didn't get on her bad side once more. If he had any shot with the southern beauty that stood in front of him, he had to do his damn best at showing the gentleman part of his personality.

However, the overwhelming tension that he was reading off of Jim's body made it close to impossible for him to focus on fixing his screw up with Chloe. It was so thick, that he needed a knife to cut through it.

Speaking towards her in a relaxed yet firm tone in his deep voice, Mark shifted his eyes over towards where Jim stood as he continued to speak.

"If you don't mind, Chloe, I need to have a private discussion with Jim here before I bring this inside of the restaurant for you."

"O-Okay." Chloe replied, hesitantly. "I will just head on inside, and get started on unpacking the belongings I already have upstairs in the loft."

He silently cursed at himself for choosing to look away from her, and focus solely on his friend and confidant instead. There was nothing that he wanted more than to gaze upon her beautiful body and angelic face other than to taste those lips once more.

This was something that could not be ignored. Mark knew there was something on Jim's mind and if he didn't say or do anything to figure out what the source of it was, the problem would never be solved out.

Once his ears registered hers moving away from them and growing softer inside of the building, he walked up to where Jim had been standing, and placed the duffle bag to the side of his body on the paved parking lot.

"Okay, Jim," Mark said, breaking the silence between the two of them, "I know that there is something on your mind, or otherwise you would not be out here, standing like a god damn statue with a look on your face that is dripping with nothing but pure and unadulterated anxiety."

He had always been really good at reading the expressions of other people that were in his presence, and Jim was not excluded from them. In all his years of living there in that small ass town, Mark had always been able to detect what the owner of Lavender Hill's most popular eatery was thinking or feeling at the time.

"So…What's up?"

"There is something on my mind," Jim replied, "but I am not sure if I should bring it up or not."

A smirk danced across his face from the high levels of nervousness slipping out of his companion's tone even though he was doing his best to not sound nervous at all in front of him. Mark let out a soft sigh before his words soon followed it in a coy and charismatic way.

"Jim…Just go ahead and tell me what is going on in your head. I know that you are really anxious right now about something."

"Well…Yes. I am anxious…but also concerned about something."

"And what exactly would this be?"

Keeping his gaze fixated on Jim, he noticed him reaching into one of his back pockets, and pulling out a folded up piece of paper. His curiosity started to peak while he watched him extend it to him with the same look on his face even though his face had started to sound even more concerned.

"I found this in my mailbox this morning when I went to check the mail."

_I wonder what this is all about._

Mark waited for him to extend the piece of paper in his direction before he accepted it into the palm of one of his hands. He brought it to him, and unfolded it up. Once it was opened up, his eyes gazed upon the words that were waiting for him on the other side of it.

_Tell your friend and patron that tonight I am coming to end his pathetic life with the one weapon that will kill him, as well as anyone that gets in my way. He has lived long enough and I will not have there be two shifters in this town. _

_Drake Romulus._

_That bastard…_

He silently cursed at the message that was waiting there for Jim that morning from the only other shifter in all of Lavender Hills, Georgia that just happened to be the most violent of the ones he had the pleasure of encountering during the past two hundred years.

Drake didn't have patience when it came to getting what he wanted. If he wanted money, he simply took it by any means necessary. If he wanted a woman that Mark favored, he wouldn't have to do much to do that. His shifter competition seemed to be a step ahead of him each and every time of him.

Wadding up the piece of paper, Mark tossed it to the side before he narrowed his eyes on his business partner as his voice slipped out in a more feral and angered tone.

"I suggest you make sure that this restaurant is guarded well tonight, and that the police is aware of this asshole's intent on coming here to cause drama, as well as make an attempt on my life."

"I…I have already done that, Mark." Jim spoke to him with a slightly shaky sound in his voice. "The police will be on watch here to make sure that Drake doesn't try to break in."

"That is good to hear then."

"However…I might need to make a call to them, and suggest that there is a little extra protection for the inside of the building."

"I am sure that them being outside-"

"I am referring to the people that will be here…and to Chloe."

Mark's heart nearly stopped when he caught on to what Jim was suggesting. His friend made the offer to him about getting more security to keep the young woman he had been kissing and conversing with outside safe and sound, as well as the other people that would be there.

Chloe…

That was right. She would be in grave danger that night at Jim's party he was throwing if Drake showed up, and discovered her if he hadn't already caught sight of her already. Chloe was as alluring as she was angelic, and could make any shifter stop dead in their tracks, as well as have them desiring to have her for their mate.

"You don't have to worry about the extra protection inside when it comes to Chloe, but you can do it for the other people, Jim."

"Why is that?"

Mark reached down, and got a hold of the strap of her bag once more. Slipping it over the top of one of his shoulders, his tall frame moved towards the front door of Jim's restaurant as he spoke in a commanding tone.

"Because _I _will be protecting her."


	6. Chapter 6

Note: This is a fanficton based off of a book series that I am writing and have the first one published on Kindle. The name of the male lead character has been changed to follow the storyline. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners, or The Undertaker

Chapter Six

Crossing the threshold of the restaurant's opened doorway, Mark focused his attention on the large, oval shaped dance floor and where a row of seating was on an upper level just about ten feet above it.

The normal chandeliers had been replaced with that of black, gothic ones containing bulbs that made it look like they were bleeding. Besides the lighting having been changed for the event that night, the tables were dressed with spider web table covers, and there was a huge decal on the hardwood dance floor of a huge black raven with its wings spread out.

_I don't know about the rest of these decorations, but I really do like that picture of the handsome raven that is in the middle of the floor, Mark._

The cackling comments of the bird that dwelled within his body caused him to walk up closer to the temporary image that had been placed on the floor of the restaurant's dance section. Mark's eyes danced over the large picture, soaking in how it looked to him. His entire body started to tremble slightly with frustration at how it looked just like the cursed creature he turned into every time he lost control of his will and strength.

_How could Jim do this…How can he call himself my friend…and plaster a picture that resembles the perfect likeness of the raven that I am forced to turn into?_

He took this to be a sign of betrayal in his gaze.

Jim had known for many years that he was a shifter, more preferably a raven shifter, and had promised to never mention to anyone about it or do anything that would cause him discomfort towards the idea of it. However…Here was a large picture of the same damn bird species he had been damned to transform into for the last two hundred years, plastered for everyone to see that night.

The light sound of Jim's feet walking inside of the restaurant alerted him of his presence, and brought him to look over his shoulder with a sharp, fierce expression burning in his gaze.

"Jim…"

Mark called out to him with a commanding and dark sound to his voice in such a way that it made his friend and confidant jump almost five feet in the air. He watched Jim focus in his direction, and expose an unbridled fear that he had been keeping inside of him.

_It seems like the letter wasn't the only thing he was worried about when it came to me…_

He should have known that this was one of the main reasons why the restaurant's owner was so nervous and concerned outside with him. The message he received was not really that much to worry about…but the decal of a raven with its wings spread out? That would be the main reason he would be on edge.

Drawing in a breath of air, Mark turned to face him with his eyes burning with a need for an explanation while his voice called out to him once more in a tone that was becoming more fierce.

"Jim…I need to have a word with you about something."

His eyes watched his friend slowly make his way out onto the dance floor, and move to the other side of the decal with his hands in front of his body. Moving his own onto the sides of his hips with a growing tension resonating off of him, Mark kept his full attention on his friend while his ears picked up on what he had to say.

"N-Now, Mark," Jim replied, "I ordered this a few months ago. It has nothing to do whatsoever with…"

"Jim…What did you promise me that you would do?"

"I…I promised you that I wouldn't say anything about your little secret or do anything that would make you uncomfortable."

"And how do you think I am going to be feeling later on tonight at your party when I have to deal with this image splayed out like this when you know very well what might end up happening?"

Mark didn't hold back his annoyance at the moment for what his companion had done. If he didn't want people to question where he was at, he would have to make an appearance there that night at the party. If he did come to the party, Mark ran a risk of his raven winning and having him to turn into the very creature he despised the most.

Despite knowing that his friend was nervous with him, he couldn't contain the feelings burning inside of him and had to let them out in his frustrated tone.

"Jim…This is going to make tonight very hard on me."

"I promise that it will be okay, Mark. Once everyone gets on the floor and they are dancing…You will not be able to see the image at all."

"You better hope so…because if I can't control-"

He stopped himself from talking to Jim anymore about the subject when his sharp hearing picked up on the soft sound of Chloe letting out a little cry of pain from upstairs, causing his eyes to move in the direction of where a set of spiral stairs were by the bar.

_Chloe…Something is wrong…She shouldn't be letting out a cry like that._

Fearing for what was going on upstairs with the young woman who had set his heart on fire, Mark wasted little time in running across the hardwood floor, and beginning his ascent up the metal staircase.

_God damn these metal hangers of mine!_

Chloe shook her right hand a bit as a soft hiss left her mouth. The tip of her index finger had gotten pricked on a jagged piece of metal that the hanger was made out of to the point where it had caused a small amount of blood to leave it.

She brought it up to her mouth, and sucked on the spot as she silently hissed in pain from having cut it open.

_I should have known better than to pack them like that in one of my duffle bags…I guess this will show me next time I decide to move and place these cursed items in a position where they are going to end up slicing-_

Chloe found herself shook out of her thoughts by the sudden and loud sound of the door to her apartment flying wide open and hitting against one of the walls that was nestled close to it. She withdrew her finger from the opening of her mouth, and hurried out of her bedroom to where the main area was of the apartment.

_What in the hell was that?!  
><em>

Reaching the living room area of the loft, she discovered Mark to be standing in the doorway with a bewildered look of concern on the expression of his face. Her gaze watched him jerk his attention to where she was before she picked up on the frantic sound in his voice.

"Are you all right, Chloe?" Mark asked, easing the heavy duffle bag down from his shoulder and moving over in her direction. "I heard you let out a sound of pain from downstairs."

_Was I really that loud when I stabbed my index finger on the hanger? I didn't think that my cry could be heard out of this apartment. _

Chloe pondered on what he had said to her out of confusion. She was certain that she had not been that loud for someone to hear her all the way downstairs to the ground floor level even though Mark was claiming he had her clearly downstairs.

Her moment of uncertainty was only brief from finding him placing himself right in front of her, and looking down at her with an unbridled look of concern pouring out of the very enchanting gaze that she had found herself falling under outside of the restaurant moments before Jim made his presence known to them both.

It took everything in her power to regain control of her body and to keep from falling under his spell once more. Inhaling a breath of air, Chloe moved her eyes down to where her index finger was still showing a small amount of blood on the tip of it. She lifted it up a little to where it could be within his sights while her soft voice escaped from her mouth.

"It is really nothing to be worried about, Mark." She said. "I was just getting my hangers out of my duffle bag over there on the bed, and I accidentally pricked the tip of my index fingers on a piece of the jagged metal-"

A soft gasp left her mouth instead of any other words due to one of his strong hands wrapping around the wrist of the raised one she had brought up from her side. She looked up, and soon discovered his attention to be focused down on to where her finger was bleeding for a moment.

_If you don't want things to deteriorate into what happened outside…I suggest you say something right now to lighten the mood between him and you, Chloe._

She agreed with the whisperings of her conscience. If there was nothing said on her part, there was a good chance of their kiss happening once more in the privacy of her apartment, but in the very building where Jim was just downstairs.

Taking in a breath of air, Chloe forced a soft chuckle out of the confines of her mouth as she started to speak up, attempting to end the momentary silence between him and her.

"See? It is really nothing, Mark. It is just a small-"

Her words seemed to fall silent as she watched him lift her hand up in the direction of his mouth. Keeping her eyes on his lips, the sensation of them pressing down against the open wound caused a tidal wave of pleasurable shivers to shoot through her midsection and spread throughout her entire body.

_God damn it…Why does his lips have to feel so amazingly good right now? Why can't they be rough or slimy in the way they touch?_

Chloe tightened up with a need for him that burned with such a hot intensity that it made her knees grow weak. She took in a breath as an attempt to ease the feelings out of her system, but quickly found him to be doing something else that drove her even more crazy inside: Sucking on the open wound on her finger.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: This is a fanfiction that is based off of a story that I have wrote and published on Kindle. The name of the male lead character has been changed to follow the storyline. I don't own or have anything to do with the WWE, its partners, or The Undertaker

Chapter Seven

_Mm…Such an interesting taste._

Even though he didn't have to drink blood or feast on flesh like some more aggressive shifters, Mark found Chloe's small amount of blood on the tips of her finger to drive him wild with not only a hunger for it but also to claim her for him and him alone.

_She has everything that I want in a woman. She is beautiful, angelic, loving, kind, and full of the fiery spirit that many ladies lack today._

The longer he took with lightly sucking on her finger and placing soft kisses on the open wound caused his own possessive need to have her belong solely to him and him only increase with each second.

Pulling his lips from the tip of her finger that had been at the opening of his mouth, Mark lifted his eyes towards the direction of her face, and found an expression there that matched the unbridled desire burning inside of him for her. She wanted him as badly as he yearned for her.

_Do it, Mark…Do it now._

The raven whispered to him from deep within the confines of his mind, speaking to him in a tempting tone.

_You know that you want her. She clearly wants you as badly as well. Take her…Take her and claim her for you and you alone._

Mark wanted to have the will to resist against the voice of his bird spirit teasing and seducing him with the thought of taking Chloe to bed at that exact moment. He wished to possess the ability to turn away at that moment, and not give control over to his passions and to the raven deep inside of him.

However, there was no way that he could truly ignore the feelings burning inside of him from the closeness that he had for the beauty nestled before him. She represented everything he had sought so hard for but was out of reach. Now…Here Chloe was right in front of him, as well as the choice to turn away or to give in to what he secretly wanted.

Mark slowly lowered her hand down from his lips as he moved in a step closer to her where their bodies were just mere inches from one another. With his eyes focused on her angelic face, he lowered his head down towards hers, and brought his mouth into contact with her soft, pink ones, sealing her into a gentle yet passionate kiss.

No sooner had his lips mad contact with Chloe's soft ones, a heat unlike anything else swept through his entire body, nearly sending him down to the floor of the room. If he wasn't as strong as he was, Mark's body would be laying on the ground floor of her apartment and not standing there right now.

_Chloe…You taste so good…_

He couldn't help himself but absolutely love the way she tasted to him. There was a flavor not only in her blood but in her kiss that made him yearn to savor more and more of it. The amount of pleasure rising in him started to reach more of an addiction level, but he didn't bother to stop himself. Mark didn't see a reason for there to be a limit to how much he should taste of her before ultimately stopping.

His hands moved lightly onto where the top of her hips were nestled, pressing his hot and shivering palms against the soft fabric of the clothes that covered the parts of her that he was starting to want to press his skin against. Mark tightened up from the contact with Chloe's curvaceous frame due to the sensation of her lips moving along his, and inviting him to kiss her a little more deeply with a burning desire that she had within her.

_This is the right time, Mark. This is the moment you have been waiting for a long time._

Although the raven usually liked to be rude towards his rational thoughts or coax him into things that it wanted to do, it knew to the very core of his being that Mark giving into the feelings he had for Chloe was the correct thing to do.

_She is the one for you…She is the woman that you have been searching for over two hundred years for. Chloe is nothing like the others who have come and went…and perhaps her arrival here in Lavender Hills is not chance…but fate._

While Mark had become used to the cursed being's usually taunts and teasing of his thoughts or wishes, he found himself quite pleased with it believing what he had already started to think about the southern beauty before him.

Chloe was unlike anything he had encountered in the last couple of centuries. He had lived in various people all over the world, and allowed women to come and go from his life. None of them were worth fighting to keep and be in their good graces. However…the young woman locked in the kiss with him was indeed worth going the extra mile for if it meant being able to have her in his life.

Silently agreeing with what his spirit creature whispered into his thoughts, Mark's mouth opened a little more, and gave his tongue room to slide out and meet Chloe's partially opened lips. A soft moan slipped out of his mouth the moment the tip of it moved into hers and was greeting by warmth there that nearly collapsed his strong will. While his mouth poured his feelings out for her in the kiss, he moved his hands down from her hips to where her round, firm ass was located in her jeans, and used his strength to hoist her up in the air.

A soft gasp escaped from her mouth and slipped inside the confines of Mark's lips the moment she discovered his strong hands grabbing her ass firmly, and moving her to be suspended in the air with only his own strength keeping her from falling back down.

The mere touch of his fingers against her clothes sent ripples of passion spreading throughout the inner part of her being until it turned into waves of desire. Even though he had not really touched her in an intimate way, Mark managed to pierce through the hard shell of her usually strong demeanor, and reach the part of her that no one had ever gotten to in all of her life.

Chloe's hands moved up to rest on top of his shoulders when they slid around the back of his neck, and locked her arms there, keeping her firmly in place. While her arms were secured around his neck, her legs found themselves pressing their thighs against the sides of his strong body, and her feet moving around him to get a strong hold on the back of his legs.

She kept the kiss going with him, increasing it over a period of time, while her frame started to register a warmth seeping between her legs where her vagina was covered by her pants she had on at the moment from the confines of his jeans where his groin was located. It was more than enough to tell her how much he was turned on, and how his lustful desires for her matched the ones that were burning inside of her without any mercy.

_Oh my goodness…I have never been so turned on before in my whole life._

A very soft moan that resembled a sigh slipped out of her mouth before she could fully stop it like she wanted to. Chloe didn't wish to let her feelings be known and out in the open, but wasn't able to keep them in anymore. She was highly aroused and unable to keep it hidden anymore.

Welcoming the warmth she was feeling from between his legs, her long legs wrapped more around his waist to where it brought her and him pressed tightly one another, leaving no room between one another and inviting for him to get as close as he can be to her. Chloe's lips welcomed his tongue while at the same time starting to slip her own inside of his strong lips, caressing and massaging it.

_Look at what you are doing, Chloe!_

The rational part of her conscience begun to scream at her while she had moved herself even deeper into the kiss with a man that she didn't know that well.

_You just met Mr. Callaway not too long ago, but here you are making out with him! Don't you understand what you are doing?! You are French kissing and making out with a complete stranger!  
><em>

Chloe knew that she probably should be stopping before things went behind the point of no return. There was still a chance for her to stop and back out before it went too far and she had no choice but to continue.

However…She didn't want to. Chloe didn't wish to leave a moment so blissfully wonderful and mind-numbing pleasurable. Mark gave her something that she never had the honor of experiencing before. No man made her feel like a queen like he was…and she didn't want to turn away from something that seemed so right and so perfect.

Before her conscience had a chance to speak up in a desperate attempt to persuade her away from the intense encounter, Chloe discovered Mark's lips leaving hers and a deep gasp leaving his mouth. She took a moment to blink her eyes to regain control of her vision before fully focusing on him instead of the fact that her legs were wrapped around his waist to keep their lower halves pressed firmly together and her arms being around the back of his neck to where their faces were only inches apart from one another.

"Chloe…" Mark whispered out to her in a soft yet deep voice. "I have to be honest with you."

_Oh no…He is going to tell me that he has another girlfriend…or he is married…or that I am horrible kisser. _

Fear and dread started to creep into her soul at the simple statement he had made to her. She had allowed herself to go to a point she had never had been to with someone she barely knew before, and now it seemed like she was going to have that moment and enjoyment taken away from her.

Despite wishing to not hear what he had to say to her, Chloe drew in a breath of air, and released it out of her mouth as she spoke to him in a soft, gentle tone that dripped with curiousness.

"W-What do you wish to tell me, Mark?"

"Chloe, I am really enjoying this moment with you…It is doing things for me that nothing else has been able to do before."

"But…"

"I don't want to rush you into something if you are not ready for this to continue any further."

His answer nearly caused a gasp of shock to leave her mouth. He had only stopped kissing her because of an assumption that she wasn't comfortable with going on beyond this point. Mark couldn't be more wrong with what he had said to her. Chloe didn't only want what he had to offer…she needed it.

Before she could stop herself, she leaned back in towards his face, and locked him into a deep kiss that burned with the unbridled passion she possessed inside for him and only him. Chloe went with a physical answer to his doubt he had about her desire to keep this going or not instead of a verbal one. She wanted him to understand her true feelings for him at that moment.

No sooner had she given him her physical answer, her body registered his moving them across the hardwood floor of her apartment in the direction of where the bedroom was located.


End file.
